111 lines
4.4 KiB
Plaintext
111 lines
4.4 KiB
Plaintext
Flashing the FireBee
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--------------------
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The FireBee's system software - that includes the FPGA firmware, the BaS,
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FireTOS and EmuTOS - is stored in flash memory. The FireBee has 8MB of flash
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memory which can be updated from TOS or MiNT by software.
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Although there are no known problems when flashing the ROM under MiNT, we
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recommend to perform this operation in a clean FireTOS or EmuTOS environment,
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so the risk of "interferences" from other running tasks is kept to
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a minimum while flashing.
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The system software files can be downloaded from http://firebee.org.
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FLASH_CF.PRG/FLASH060.PRG
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-------------------------
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There are two versions of the flash tool; FLASH_CF.PRG is a native ColdFire
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compiled tool and can be used in both EmuTOS and FireTOS. The second,
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FLASH060.PRG, is for the FireTOS environment only.
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Flashing the "firmware" components is easy - start the program and click on
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the harddrive-icon to open the fileselector. Select which file to flash.
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You don't have to specify what kind of file it is (BaS, dBUG, FPGA, FireTOS,
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EmuTOS...) as Flash* program will automatically detect this.
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When you've selected a file, Flash program will load and verify it. This will
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take a few seconds. When it's finished loading, click on the "Program" button.
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The "LEDs" will light up one by one. When all are lit the programming has
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finished and you can reboot.
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NB! Don't flash the FireBee when it's running on battery power! If the
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battery runs low during flashing you might end up with a "dead" FireBee and
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external hardware is needed to reflash the flash memory!
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FPGA firmware
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-------------
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The FPGA firmware specifies the behaviour of the FPGA. Inside the FPGA all
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the Atari legacy components are implemented and most of the pins of most of
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the FireBee's connectors/ports are directly connected to it.
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BaS (Basis System) and dBUG
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---------------------------
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BaS or dBUG is the first thing that runs when the FireBee is switched on.
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It initializes the hardware, loads the FPGA firmware into the FPGA and then
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starts the operating system.
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You can not install dBUG and BaS at the same time, it´s only possible to
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use one of them.
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dBUG has some additional features which are very handy if you're a developer.
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First of all, it can boot an operating system (like TOS or Linux) from the
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network. It also has a monitor which is accessible via the serial port.
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BaS is written by Fredi Aschwanden.
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dBUG by Freescale, adapted to the FireBee by Didier Mequignon.
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EmuTOS
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------
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This is a version of EmuTOS built specifically for the FireBee and its
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Coldfire CPU. As it is a Coldfire native OS, it is not capable of running
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68k native programs, unless a 68K software emulator is used.
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With the 68K emulator running 68K programs depends on several factors. As a
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general rule, programs that do not break the Atari rules or relay on
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undocumented/old/unofficial/deprecated features should run.
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FireTOS
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-------
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FireTOS is the default Operating System for the FireBee and is derived
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directly from the TOS60 for the CT6x Falcon accelerator. The FireTOS OS is
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a heavily patched TOS 4.0.4 with the following additional key features:
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- Support of most of the 68k opcodes with the help of the
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built-in CF68Klib (Freescale).
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- Extended video modes via the built-in VDI driver for the FireBee Videl and
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ATI Radeon PCI graphics cards.
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- USB drivers for keyboard, mouse and mass storage devices (memory sticks,
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USB harddrives...) that works under both TOS and FreeMiNT and also under
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EmuTOS when started from FireTOS boot menu.
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- RAM-disk, TFTP-support, web-server, STiK compatible network stack.
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Both EmuTOS and FireTOS have built-in harddisk drivers for the SD and CF cards.
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They can access (and boot from) DOS-partitioned cards/drives.
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The partition size limit for SD/CF cards is 2GB in FireTOS and EmuTOS with
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the standard 8.3 Atari filenames.
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In FreeMiNT, thanks to the VFAT option (set as default in our Setup),
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disks/partitions of any size are possible and long filenames are supported.
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Both EmuTOS and FireTOS are installed by default in the FireBee ROM. You can
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select which one to start per default with setting the DIP switches on
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the motherboard.
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FireTOS: Switch #5 up, #6 up.
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EmuTOS: Switch #5 down, #6 up.
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EmuTOS started from switch is fully native and will access the Atari legacy
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components only. This means that USB devices will not available, including
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USB mice and keyboards.
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ACP, May 2019.
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http://firebee.org
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